Late in 2016, Onni Group announced plans to redevelop the aging Times Mirror Square complex with residential units, retail space and creative offices. Filings with the Los Angeles Department of City Planning have unveiled more details about the project.
Onni has already stated its intention to rehabilitate the historic elements of the campus as modern office space. This includes the original Art Deco Times Building and a 1940s expansion, both of which are located along Spring Street. Retail space will be carved out at the ground levels of both structures, including along a new pedestrian paseo cutting between 1st and 2nd Streets. A rooftop between the two buildings would be repurposed as a landscaped amenity deck.
A 1970s expansion along Broadway, which includes an office building and a parking garage, is slated for demolition. Onni would replace those structures with a pair of residential towers, designed by Los Angles-based architecture firm A.C. Martin.
At the corner of 1st Street and Broadway, directly across the street from the proposed FAB Park, plans call for a 37-story tower with glassy rooftop protrusions that would rise nearly 465 feet above ground level. A larger 53-story building would stand on 2nd Street, rising to a maximum height of 655 feet.
The two towers would offer a mixture of 1,126 residential units, including studio, one-, two- and three-bedroom dwellings. A connecting podium structure would provide residential amenities, retail space and parking for over 1,000 vehicles.
With Onni's proposal in the fold, as well as a similar 30-story tower planned across the street, Downtown's sleepy Civic Center has suddenly found itself on the cusp of a high-rise boom. Additionally, the city is considered a new master plan for the neighborhood which calls for razing several aging government buildings for new towers with offices, apartments, retail space and public amenities.
Onni has become one of Downtown's most aggressive developers over the past several years, with nearly a half-dozen projects in the works.
- Onni Group Plans High-Rise Towers at Times Mirror Square (Urbanize LA)